After Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit, Satan’s promise came true: their eyes were opened. But it wasn’t what they expected. Instead of true wisdom, they lost their innocence about life and their trust of each other. Now they were uncomfortable with each other’s bodies, and they tried to hide from each other. Then they tried to hide from God.

---

How Others See It

Liz Curtis Higgs: "Now fallen, Adam, who had named every animal in the garden, had to find a name for what they did: sin. A name for what they felt: shame. A name for the consequences: separation."

Joseph M. Stowell: "Realizing their shame and loss, Adam and Eve tried to cover their sin by sewing fig leaves together. Our world still specializes in fig leaves, because there is no hope of significance apart from God. When sin is present, as it is in all of us, there is also no hope of restoration to him in and of our­selves and therefore no hope of true, shameless significance. That is why redemption is such a pivotal and wonderful reality. The marvel of it all is that God has taken the initiative."

John Eldredge: "You don’t need a course in psychology to understand men. Understand that verse, let its implications sink in, and the men around you will suddenly come into focus. We are hiding, every last one of us. Well aware that we, too, are not what we were meant to be, desperately afraid of exposure, terrified of being seen for what we are and are not, we have run off into the bushes. We hide in our office, at the gym, behind the newspaper and mostly behind our personality. Most of what you encounter when you meet a man is a façade, an elaborate fig leaf, a brilliant disguise."

---

God does want us to desire wisdom, but true wisdom comes from knowing God—not from having sex with somebody. Proverbs 1:7 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Disobeying God’s commands will never give us true wis­dom or joy, but seeking and obeying God will.

Disobedience brought consequences that Adam and Eve never anticipated. They were banished from the Garden of Eden. Adam had to work hard to bring food from the ground. Eve became submissive to her husband, and was fated to have pain during childbirth.

Disobeying God’s laws always brings consequences. Couples who have sex before marriage may carry guilt into the wedding day. A man and woman who have premarital sex may become distrustful of each other. Their “knowledge” of each other is no longer innocent and could influence their ability to enjoy sex when married.